Expand the Pool
Going across the aisle to find the country's top diplomat shouldn't be driven by the Mount Everest principle -- climb it because it's there. There are practical reasons for breaking the partisan ceiling.
This is one tough job. It requires judgment, political skill, leadership, managerial talent, negotiating chops, and a close relationship with the president. The latter shouldn't exclude potentially well-qualified candidates who are not necessarily of the same party. Presidents have entrusted the country's economy and defense to members of the opposing party. Why not foreign policy? If Obama put his erstwhile presidential rival in the job after a tough campaign, another president could certainly place a former senator, an experienced public servant, or a qualified public intellectual in the job just as easily. The United States hasn't had that many great secretaries of state; we can use all the help we can get in expanding the pool of possible candidates. It's just logical: Looking at a longer list of options gives you a better chance of picking the best one.
More Unum and Less Pluribus
One of the saddest, most destructive trends in America today is the loss of faith in government institutions and the increasing relish with which politicians and the 24/7, in-your-face media accentuate what divides rather than what unites Americans. The polls now have Congress's approval rating in the single digits. And the public's faith in the ability of government to do the right thing has also plummeted in general: Fifty-seven percent of Americans now have little or no confidence in the federal government's ability to solve domestic problems.
Autumn Brewington, the Washington Post's op-ed editor, even wondered last week in a column whether a queen might help: "Someone who, like a living Statue of Liberty, symbolizes the nation and represents not one ideology but the American people." (I actually thought that was supposed to be the president; how silly of me.)
Ironically, this downward trend, particularly the credibility gap and mistrust of government, began in the late 1960s and early 1970s with the conduct of foreign policy toward Southeast Asia by both Democratic and Republican administrations and the deception, lies, and coverups that accompanied it. And while these days the popular perception of government has more to do with incompetence than conspiracy, the country could use a restoration of trust and some unity all the same. Why not bring the process full circle by using foreign policy to restore rather than undermine confidence in government?
The fact is, Americans are deeply divided on some critically important domestic issues -- debt, deficit, the role of government. Those divisions aren't going away anytime soon. At the same time, there's an emerging consensus in U.S. foreign policy that's smart, functional, and welcome. We should build on it.
I don't want to idealize bipartisanship. Both its frequency and utility have long been overestimated in America's history and politics. But the country really could use a shot of togetherness these days, and not just in the wake of some horrible national trauma and tragedy. Identifying a political rival from the opposing party to lead the country abroad is something the president actually has the capacity to do without passing a law or breaking some venerable tradition. Indeed, with foreign policy figuring less centrally in the election campaign, it ought to be easier to go bipartisan.
By tradition, the secretary of state is regarded as the cabinet's highest-ranking officer, the third highest-ranking official behind the president and vice president in the executive branch, and by law fourth in the line of presidential succession after the vice president, speaker of the House, and president pro tempore of the Senate if the president dies or is incapacitated. There would be no better symbol of a functioning, unified bipartisan approach and spirit if the next president reached across the aisle to choose the next secretary of state. It would send a powerful signal to America's friends and enemies abroad -- and to Americans at home -- that U.S. politics and policies actually have some coherence and unity and are more than just a partisan free-for-all.
Sadly, I suspect even this idea is too much for America's politics and system. Some will argue that it won't make a damn bit of difference; others that a president needs people he can truly trust and positions to reward allies and loyalists. Some might even argue that the tension between parties on foreign policy is healthy. None of this convinces me. We have a major problem in the United States: too much pluribus and not enough unum in our politics. And somehow, we need to address it. A bipartisan choice in Foggy Bottom would be as good a place as any to start.
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